


Chasing Butterflies

by Evian_99



Category: Versailles (TV 2015)
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Hallucinations, Sleepwalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-10-12 22:14:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10500507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evian_99/pseuds/Evian_99
Summary: The combined stress with exhaustion has caused Louis to sleepwalk. Together with a dream-visage of the child-version of his brother, he wanders through Versailles’ gardens chasing butterflies. After the dream turns into a nightmare and Louis makes an unfortunate dive into the grand canal, all he truly wants is to go back to sleep and never to speak of it again.





	

The indistinct feeling of someone using his bed as trampoline is what wakes Louis. He groans, turning his back to his unknown assailant. Waving his hand in dismissal, he is annoyed to feel two small hands clasping his arm. “What?” he grunts, opening his eyes. For a moment, he blinks owlishly. “Philippe? Is that you?”

The child-version of the duke d’Orléans excitedly bounces up and down on the thick mattress, smiling broadly. “You have to wake up, brother! It is a beautiful day! Come join me outside. Please?”

Louis can’t refuse those eyes. He never could, and probably never would either. Big, pleading eyes begging him to please join. Glancing at the window, the inky darkness disappears in a swirl of colour and light to show pale sunbeams illuminating them. “Outside you said?”

Young Philippe furiously nods. “To the butterflies dancing ‘round the fountain!”

With a soft sigh of acceptance, Louis lets Philippe grasp his hand and pull him out of bed. In the same swirl of colour and light that his nightclothes make way for more proper day attire, and he follows his brother out of his room without glancing back.

▫▪∞▪▫

Bontemps always has been a light sleeper. His job as the king’s first valet demands it, and therefore he wakes with a start when he hears a clunking noise and a muffled curse outside of the royal bedroom. Sitting up, he looks out of habit to the bed on his right, and at once notices the absence of his liege. Throwing the covers away, Bontemps looks frowning at the opened door left of the king’s bed. How did he miss Louis waking up and leaving?

A second curse on the other side of the closed, main doors of the room, prompt him to investigate. When he opens the doors, he stares incomprehensibly at the two guards lying in a heap on the floor. “Do I want to know what happened?”

The guards smile sheepishly. “No, Sir. You’d probably not.”

Bontemps sighs, raising his hand to rub his temples. “Very well.” Making the choice not to divulge his majesty’s disappearance just yet, he continues with saying: “You are lucky that you didn’t wake the king. Take care to remain silent next time, will you?”

“Yes, Sir. We swear it won’t happen again.” Their expressions are relieved.

“Do that.” The valet re-enters the bedroom, and goes to stand before the windows. While it isn’t uncommon for the king to spend the night elsewhere, he rarely disappears after he has entered his bed. With Louis’ exhausted expression some hours prior, Bontemps believes it highly unlikely for him to have slipped off. There is something more going on, and the valet feels a growing fear that it has everything to do with France’s head of state.

When a white clad figure flits in view between the many bushes, Bontemps’ eyes widen in recognition. In alarm, he hurries to the closet, grabs a furry cloak, and hurries out through the still opened door on the left. Running down the hallways, he almost knocks over two guards.

Seeing his alarmed expression, one of the guards worriedly asks what’s going on, and if the king is in danger.

“I don’t yet know,” Bontemps grits, “One of you immediately has to get Marchal. Tell him to meet me in the king’s bedroom. The other one is coming with me. I trust you both know the servants’ corridors?”

The men nod, look at each other before one hurries off to get Louis’ head of security.

“To the garden”, the valet says, at once continuing his half-run to where he last saw his liege.

▫▪∞▪▫

“Brother, brother! Look at them! Aren’t they beautiful?” Young Philippe dances in circles around the garden, chasing the brightly coloured butterflies.

Louis smiles, reaching out to touch the little creatures. While most of them fly away, one yellow butterfly lands on his palm. Enchanted by its beauty, he watches it flapping its tiny wings before it again takes off deeper in Versailles’ gardens.

As the flock of butterflies continue their journey, the two brothers chase them. Further and further they go, up some stairs, passing by a few statues. All the way to the gilded fountain.

Balancing carefully on the marble edge of the fountain, Louis can’t suppress a shiver of cold. For a brief second the swirl of summery warmth disappears, and he can see the inky black darkness of the night surround him.

“Louis!” Whining loudly, young Philippe clamps his arm. “They are flying away again. Don’t you see?”

In a swirl of light, the darkness makes place for light. The flock of butterflies has indeed gone off again, and they follow. Even though Louis cannot shake off the feeling that something is not quite right.

▫▪∞▪▫

In the botanic garden, Bontemps sees no trace of France’s ruler. Everything is as it should be.

“Monsieur Bontemps,” the guard speaks, walking towards some rose bushes, “I see footprints. Should we investigate?”

The valet nods. “Yes. I saw his majesty last here. If you would go in front; my eyesight isn’t what it used to be.” He can see the questions of the young man, but he refuses to answer them. It is better to leave him in ignorance until he knows what exactly is going on. A scandal is the last thing they need.

Over a very random zigzagging path they walk, all the way until they reach the gilded fountain where the trail disappears. While the guard traces the edges of the grass around the fountain, Bontemps walks around praying for a glimpse of his king.

Heavy footsteps make a crunching sound on the gravel. “Bontemps”, the unmistakable voice of Fabien Marchal grunts. “I hear the king is missing?”

“In a way,” he vaguely answers, “His majesty has left his room without a word and I saw him wondering around in the garden.”

Fabien frowns. “And you saw him last here?”

“We have reason to believe he walked from the botanic garden to here. This young man here found footprints.”

“I have a dozen guards securing the corridors. No-one will ever know what has happened tonight. The other part of the king’s guard is methodically checking the whole garden. God knows it will not be long before he is found.”

And as if God indeed heard, a blue-clad guard appears from between the bushes. “We have located the king, Sir.”

“Lead us to him”, Bontemps says.

▫▪∞▪▫

They end up on the dock of the grand canal, where the butterflies happily flutter above the still water. Bright sunbeams illuminate his face, but strangely enough, Louis doesn’t feel its warmth.

Beside him, Philippe is stripping off his clothes. Throwing them carelessly on the wood, the young prince takes a leap into the water. “Come join me, brother! The water is delightfully refreshing!”

The water looks inviting enough, Louis notices, but there is something that withholds him. Around him the butterflies gather. All of the sudden, they have lost their charm. Their colour fades, and then their bodies change! As quick as he can, he turns. Running away from the dock, but being blocked by a man cloaked in shadows. Illuminous red eyes stare deep in his soul, and Louis backs of in terror.

“Come join me, brother! Join me in the water! Take a swim, live a little.”

Philippe suddenly doesn’t look as young and innocent anymore. No, before his eyes, his sweet little brother transforms in a creature that is hardly human.

More black clothed people enter the dock. Swords gleam at their sides, and Louis raises his hands protectively before himself. “Don’t,” he gasps, “Don’t come near me, please.”

“Your majesty!”

A voice pierces the darkness. It sounds strangely familiar, but so seemed the demon disguised as his younger brother. The king takes another step back, and another when the figures also approach further. With a voice shaking in terror, Louis screams: “Leave me alone!” He frantically tries to get away, but then the dock ends and with a loud yelp he falls into the water.

▫▪∞▪▫

Bontemps’ legs moved before he could register what just happened. Pushing the furry cloak in the hands of one of the guards, he nearly jumps into the water. “Your majesty, please, grab my hand”, he says.

Louis looks mightily confused as to what he is doing in the water. Seeing his valet kneeling on the dock, he swims over.

While it is obvious to Bontemps that the royal has about as much clue about the situation as they have, he is relieved to see that he doesn’t seem to be harmed by this endeavour. Grabbing Louis’ right arm, Bontemps helps with the help of Fabien the king out of the water.

The king himself lets it happen, and sits meekly on the dock while his valet fusses around him. Diving deeper in the furry cloak that is being wrapped around him, Louis stands up. “I’d like to return to my bed now”, he says.

Marchal waves his guards to surround the king. “Back to the palace!”

Inside the palace, Fabien dismisses the guards and leads his liege together with Bontemps back to the royal bedroom. There another valet is waiting to help Louis out of his wet clothes.

After being redressed in warm and dry clothing, Louis slips back under the covers and goes back to sleep without another word.

Bontemps and Marchal stand beside each other in the receiving room of the king’s living quarters. It is silent until Bontemps breaks it.

“Did you call for his physician?”

“I did, Claudine should arrive any moment.”

It falls silent again.

▫▪∞▪▫

The guard was infuriatingly vague about the king’s symptoms. Packing a bunch of different potions and herbs, Claudine tries again. “Do you have any idea what is bothering his majesty?”

Apologetically, the man shakes his head. “I am sorry, my lady, but I was only told to fetch you immediately.”

“Right,” she mutters, “Let’s leave then.”

They ride by horse to the palace where Bontemps is awaiting her. There are no words exchanged, for Claudine can sense that the man doesn’t want to be overheard. It is only when they enter Louis’ bedroom, that Claudine dares to ask. “What is bothering his majesty?”

“His majesty left his bed in the middle of the night. When we found him on the dock of the grand canal, he seemed to be suffering from hallucinations. When we approached him, he stepped backwards and fell into the water. It seemed to wake him from his trance.”

Making a humming noise, Claudine places the back of her hand against the king’s forehead. “He doesn’t have a fever, which is good, though it makes me wonder what caused the hallucinations. Can you wake him up for me?”

When Bontemps wakes his king, it becomes clear that Louis doesn’t want to.

“Your majesty, can you tell me how you feel?”

Louis blinks as though he hadn’t noticed her presence. Yawning, he says: “I feel tired, what are you doing here?” Turning a questioning look to his valet, he asks: “Bontemps?”

It is Claudine who speaks first. “What do you remember of this night, your majesty?”

The king frowns. “I went to bed feeling tired, and then I awoke when I fell into the water. I don’t remember leaving my bed or anything, and just — went back to sleep as soon as I was back.”

Claudine holds a candle in front of Louis’ eyes. “Eye dilation is fine. I don’t think you are suffering from an illness or a poison, your majesty. I think it is a combination of stress and exhaustion. Take it easy the next few days, and I will prepare some sleeping draughts for you to take when you go to bed.”

And with that all was said. Louis goes back to sleep with Bontemps standing vigilance, Claudine goes back to home, and Fabien leaves to do God knows what. Nor of the butterflies, nor of the nightly swim are mentioned ever again.


End file.
